What I Learned Planning My Own Wedding - Part 1 Tips I Wish Someone Told Me

It's a universal truth. Weddings now a days are NOT what they used to be. Expectations have changed! Pinterest has ruined us. Everyone is wanting bigger centerpieces, the giant jenga, and the donut wall! What that means for the modern bride is bigger budgets and more stress! You want it to be gorgeous, fun, and memorable. And who would blame you?! That's all I wanted as well. So Here are a few tips and tricks I learned from my own wedding. I hope they are helpful and will make the planning process easier! 

***These are just some tips I felt would be helpful. Next Week will be Spend VS. Save***

Tips I learned! 

1. Nail down your vision! 

Before you talk to anyone, figure out the type of vibe and look you are going for! This will help TREMENDOUSLY going through the whole process. You don't need specific details, but think in terms of "theme". Everyone (wedding dress consultant, florist, photographer, etc) is going to ask you some form of the question. Not only that, but there is SO MUCH wedding stuff out there! If you have a look and feel in mind, that will help a lot of decision making processes! Centerpieces, alter decor, everything will be a breeze figuring out

What I did that I noticed really helped was coming up with 3-4 words or small phrases that help people see your vision. Mine were "Moody Bohemian" and "Unique Minimalism". 

            Brittany Elizabeth Images

2. Understand your expectations vs. what you can do

This is HUGE! Owning my own business I do not have much spare time outside of being in the shop. So a fully DIY wedding was OUT! I was going to dye cheese cloth and make these gorgeous cheese cloth runners for all the tables, and my own bouquet, and eucalyptus garlands, and giant wooden photo booth, and so.much.more. THANK GOD I was honest with myself and understood what I could and couldn't do. The last thing you want to do is get to the week of your wedding and look at all the amount of things you didn't get done. 

Also keep in mind budget. Decide what is important to you that you know you'll want to spend the money on, and get creative with the rest.

ex. I wanted a gorgeous bouquet. A real statement piece! That meant centerpieces, bridesmaids bouquets, and other florals were going to have to be minimal. I researched centerpieces that would make a statement, but not be spending a ton. that's when I found pampas grass!!

ex. My dress had.to.be.bangin! Which means it's going to be a pretty penny. So I practiced for weeks doing my own makeup, asked my sister to do my hair for my wedding gift, searched long and hard for an inexpensive veil. etc

                  Brittany Elizabeth Images

 3. Think about getting a day of event coordinator. 

If you're too much of a control freak (ME!) or on a tight budget (also me!), you might not be able to hire a wedding planner. What I do regret is not hiring a day of event coordinator though. This could be a professional, or a friend of a friend that you work out some sort of arrangement.

This person makes sure the whole day goes off without hitch! They ensure groomsmen are where they should be, helps the ceremony go easily, everyone who needs a boutonniere gets one, guest book, cake, and snack table are set and stay stocked, everything stays on schedule, and more!! That means you as the bride, doesn’t have to worry about any of that!!! Yes, hosts and personal attendants are great, and you should definitely still ask your favorite people to help with that, but they are still guests. They want to enjoy the day just as much as you do! This person stays onsite all day to ensure you don't have to be yelling at people to be where they should or organize anything!

By the time family formals and wedding party pictures came along, we were running a tad behind, which let out my inner bridezilla. I was yelling at groomsmen and family to start listening, and hurry their butts up and be where they should be. Not something I wanted to do on my wedding day!

4. Make a shareable itinerary! 

This was the best thing I did for our wedding party, family, and vendors. I had the day planned down by the half hour, with the understanding that times could be off a little. Everyone knew their exceptions and when they should be where, and all the vendors could coordinate with each. I did it on google docs and sent everyone a link for them to view it so it could be on their phones. 

5. Get as much done as soon as possible! 

Venues, photographers, and other wedding vendors get booked 1-2 years in advance sometimes. You don’t want a situation where your favorite photographer or venue is booked the day you’ve chosen, or you cant find a day that works for all of them! The moment you get engaged, figure out a time period you want to get married, then start booking EVERYTHNG! 

Another thing I did was get all those little details done the moment I knew what I wanted. People told me “you have plenty of time”, “dont stress”, etc. So Happy I didn’t listen to them! Because the week of our wedding the mariachi band cancelled on us, we had some stressful drama, and plenty of things go wrong that were completely out of my control. If I still had things to do on top of that, I would have been a hot, hot mess!!! If you’re fortunate enough to not have crazy things go wrong, and tons of drama, then you can just enjoy your wedding week and bask in the joy of it all. Which was my goal! Ha!

Brittany Elizabeth Images 

So there you have it! I hope these helped! And if you’ve already gone through the joys of planning a wedding, let us know some tips you wish someone told you in the comments!!